The attention, as always, is on Nonito Donaire. Donaire is the star, 122 pounds of skill and charisma. Donaire is the one who knocked out Vic Darchinyan, and who hit Fernando Montiel so hard he left an indentation in the side of his head. Donaire is the one widely regarded as one of the top half-dozen talents in boxing.

But Donaire is also a fighter who has at times looked more pedestrian than all-powerful in his past few outings. That hasn’t entirely been his fault: It takes two to tango, and a couple of his recent dance partners appeared as if they would have been more than happy to sit out the opportunity to quickstep with Donaire. Omar Narvaez barely bothered to show up at all, his ambition apparently limited to being able to return to Argentina and boast that he lasted twelve rounds. Jeffrey Mathebula used his lengthy reach to keep the Filipino at bay as best he could, but beyond that brought little to the table to disrupt Donaire’s progress. Sandwiched in between, Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. did make a fight of it, and despite being knocked down for his troubles, he pushed Donaire to a split decision.

Yet, despite the excuses about reticent opponents, and despite the obvious point that he is continuing to defeat those opponents -- and normally by quite large margins -- there is something about Donaire of late that has seemed a little … well, not quite right. It is almost as if he has read too many of his own press clippings, or fallen in love with the hype that accompanied his annihilation of Montiel. Or perhaps he’s just trying to keep things interesting for himself -- this is, after all, the man who inexplicably turned southpaw in a 2010 contest with Hernan Marquez that he was winning by a country mile. Whatever the case, Donaire has of late seemed all too willing to abandon the fundamentals in favor of dipping low, dropping his hands, leaping in from a crouch -- whatever it takes to confuse his foe, entertain the fans, and prevent himself from falling asleep.

If you haven’t heard of Nishioka, it’s likely because he has spent much of his career boxing in his native Japan. But he is, as the British say, no mug. His last defeat was in 2004. His last victory was against future Hall-of-Famer Rafael Marquez. He is a southpaw with excellent boxing skills. And while he doesn’t have a reputation as a power puncher, he has stopped nine of his last 12 foes.

He is, in other words, absolutely not the kind of opponent to take lightly. Candidly, he is a genuine candidate to pull off the upset victory. This is a dangerous fight for Donaire.

If there is a knock against Nishioka, it is his age -- he is 35 -- and his inactivity: He has not fought since outpointing Marquez a year ago. But he has deliberately held himself out of the ring, wanting to use the Marquez win as a springboard to at least one more big fight. It doesn’t get much bigger than Donaire.

Nishioka, then, is focused and ready. Donaire will need to be, too, if he is to overcome the genuine challenge he faces on Saturday night.

UPCOMING FIGHTS

INSTAGRAM

After scoring a 2nd-round knockdown, @jorgelinares fought off a resolute @luke11campbell to retain his titles in a split-decision victory. #LinaresCampbell

In a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle, @jorgelinares overcomes a gutsy rally from @luke11campbell to earn a split-decision victory and defend his lightweight titles. #LinaresCampbell

Fight night STARTS NOW with the exclusive replay of @canelo vs. @gggboxing followed immediately by live boxing featuring the lightweight title bout between @jorgelinares and @luke11campbell.
Tune in now to HBO World Championship Boxing. #CaneloGGG #LinaresCampbell

Will @luke11campbell take home @jorgelinares' title belts tonight?
Tune in to HBO World Championship Boxing at 10 PM ET/PT for the exclusive replay of #CaneloGGG followed immediately by #LinaresCampbell.

@jorgelinares puts his lightweight titles on the line against @luke11campbell on Saturday.
Will Campbell be ready? Tune in to HBO at 10 PM ET/PT. #LinaresCampbell

"Andre Ward ends his boxing career as he only knew how to live it -- as a champion at the top. To watch Ward was to marvel at constant mastery of craft in the ring, to say nothing of his being the consummate role model outside it. The Hall of Fame will be lucky to have him.
"We wish Andre and his family much success and happiness as he explores new opportunities, including with our own HBO family as one of the expert analysts on our broadcast team.
"It was a privilege for HBO to serve as the television platform for many of his landmark achievements in the sport he loves." - Peter Nelson, Executive Vice President, HBO Sports

Saturday: Watch three-division world champ @jorgelinares defend his lightweight titles against hard-hitting rising star @luke11campbell.
Tune in to @HBO World Championship Boxing Saturday at 10 PM ET/PT for the replay of #CaneloGGG followed by #LinaresCampbell.

A fight that was years in the making exceeded all expectations. #CaneloGGG